MJF Images Fine Art landscape, nature and travel images from the American West and around the world.

Archive for the ‘rural America’ Tag

We’ve been rambling through the rural western U.S. on a series of road-trips. Now it’s time to pause for a bit of reflection. I’m greatly enjoying this series and hope you are too. It’s been great to get away from photography topics for awhile and celebrate the reason I do it in the first place. I first got into photography on my first ever solo road-trip at the tender age of 18.

A couple months after graduating high school I escaped my east-coast birthplace and drove across country in my Pontiac. I’d been given a little manual camera as a gift. Knowing nothing of the rule of thirds or anything else about photography, I shot many rolls of Kodachrome on that trip. To this day documenting subjects I find while traveling is my #1 reason for doing photography. I’m more serious about it now, with the added motivation of artful expression thrown into the mix. But it’s still all about exploration and inspiration.

The trips I’ve featured in this series have balanced visits to natural wonders with route variations that take in remnants of rural America and its history. What is so fascinating about many parts of the country is the way that these three (the land, its human history and the way people interact with it now) are interwoven. It’s possible when traveling in sparsely-populated areas, especially in the West and parts of the Midwest, to feel the power that the landscape exerted on past explorers and settlers, both native and white. And it’s fascinating to see how the land continues to influence the way modern people live on it.

An old-time antebellum mansion on Georgia’s Atlantic coast.

Tending the land demanded bigger families in America’s past. These folks lived at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in what was New Mexico Territory.

But everywhere you go in this great country it’s impossible to escape the obvious: things have changed in fundamental ways. Gone are those days when most people made their living off the land, when they stayed at or very near their birthplaces for their whole lives. Here’s an important fact about American history: those relative few who did not stay home were critical to shaping the young country. They were responsible for America spreading westward to the Pacific. They created the reality of the American spirit and formed the basis for the myths that would later be woven into that reality.

A cemetery out on the windblown plains of western Oklahoma.

Interior of a round barn: southeastern Oregon.

Nowadays nearly everyone moves somewhere else. The same kinds of motivations are at work for us as for our forebears: a desire to start anew. But since travel today does not entail near the hardship of days past, many more people move. A person who is willing to take the chance that moving across country may mean that some of the family will die on the way is quite different than one who drives a U-Haul to California for a new job. The latter is taking risks, but nothing like the former, whose life could literally collapse around her.

A cabin draws a small herd of free-range horses at the base of remote Steens Mountain, Oregon.

Crystal River runs down one of my favorite little valleys in the Colorado Rockies, home to a lucky few.

In my own travels through the west I’ve often tried to put myself into the boots of those risk-takers. I imagine riding into rough country without maps, where my destination was more hope than reality, where I was in very real danger of being assaulted by robbers or bands of vengeful braves. The change that has overtaken the world has not spared the western U.S. But in out-of-the-way corners it is still possible to see things that have changed little, or even not at all. And that’s what this series was all about. (I say ‘was’ but I’ll return to the theme again when the mood strikes.) Thanks for reading!

Spring daffodils bloom at an old cabin in Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee.

Here’s a sad story: Imagine driving through a typical developed section of the United States. You drive by a continuous series of shopping complexes, fast-food joints, theaters, condo developments and all the rest. It’s just the way it is, right?

Now imagine a long-time local in the car with you. Inevitably he or she would be able to point and tell you that not long ago this was all farmland (or forest, or grass meadows, or swampland, or tidal marshes). I’ve heard this told of many areas across the country, and I could tell the story for numerous places that I’m personally familiar with.

America has experienced continuous growth and development for quite some time now, and the effects are many. This blog series is about one of them, the swallowing up of rural farm- and ranch-lands as the suburbs have pushed outward. We’ve lost much of the on-the-land character here, and visitors from other countries, along with younger residents, simply do not know what the country was once like.

When you come upon a rare round barn in rural America, you stop and take a picture: east Oregon desert.

Thankfully rural America does still exist in places. But in order to see it, you must be willing to get away from the popular routes and sights. It’s one of those things that is easy to say but much harder to put into effect during a trip. The internet tends to push us into narrow tourist-trails, perhaps more so than travel books and magazines once did. But the internet can also give you ideas for getting off those beaten trails to explore just a little bit of the original character of the country and its people. It’s that rural character that made this country great in the first place.

The last few posts have been exploring the Desert Southwest with some of my favorite road-trips. This post continues with that theme, moving east and south to explore the Four Corners region, especially the native tribal lands of southern Utah, northern Arizona and western New Mexico. It’s part of a big loop starting and ending in Page, Arizona. Next time we’ll cover the southern leg of the loop. If you are flying in and renting a vehicle, your trip could start in Arizona from either Phoenix or Flagstaff. Or you could fly into Albuquerque or Santa Fe, New Mexico and start the loop on the eastern end.

The famous Horseshoe Bend of the Colorado River near Page, Arizona.

Page to Cortez

Page, Arizona is a little town on the shores of Lake Powell. It’s popular with snowbirds and retirees, but is probably best known as a minor tourist town. It’s the base town for house boat trips on the lake and also for desert tours. The town is set in ridiculously scenic desert, so it’s popular with photographers. There is a balloon fest the first weekend of November (image below).

If you love slot canyons and can’t resist an over-photographed location, visit nearby Antelope Canyon. It’s on Navajo land and a guided tour costs anywhere between $20 and $40, not including the $6 tribal fee. The cheaper option is for the lower canyon while the upper costs more. Both are stunning visually. Another superb but over-shot location is Horseshoe Bend just south of town (image above). The whole area is like candy for landscape shooting. I recommend a sunrise at Lone Rock Beach (image at top). You can camp right there on the beach.

The Page Balloon Regatta culminates in a panoply of glowing balloons.

If you have extra time a great side-trip from Page travels Hwy. 89A past Marble Canyon on the Colorado River and up to Jacob Lake. Turn south on 67 and enjoy the cool pine forests on a short jaunt to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Our trip will take us east into very different country. This is vast, unpeopled desert, dotted with small communities that are a mix of American Indian, white ranchers and more recent immigrants. Many towns are dominated by native tribal people.

Looking east over the upper Grand Canyon from the North Rim.

Drive to Kayenta, AZ and turn north toward Monument Valley on the Utah border. As you near this iconic place of the west, the terrain begins to look like an old John Ford movie. There is a fee to enter the tribal park, and it is 100% worth it. Make sure and stop for some Navajo fry bread at road-side and chat up the friendly locals. I’ve camped out in the desert here and had locals roll up in their pickup trucks to check me out. Instead of running me off their reservation they’ve been friendly once they know I’m just after a good night’s sleep.

A young Navajo pony is curious about the white stranger in Monument Valley.

Continue north, making sure to stop and look behind you for the view from the movie Forrest Gump. Mexican Hat on the San Juan River is a tiny town typical of this part of the country. Stop for lunch and learn something from a local or two. Continue up the San Juan to Bluff, another interesting little place. There are spectacular rock art panels along the river just west of Bluff.

Pictographs: southern Utah.

A side-trip north toward Blanding, Utah takes you into the recently designated Bear’s Ears National Monument. You can stop along the roadside in this area and walk cross-country, exploring randomly, and come upon ancient Ancestral Puebloan (Anasazi) ruins and rock art. It’s that rich with prehistoric treasures. A hiking trip into Grand Gulch will take you into the heart of this amazing piece of America. This place has become a political hot-button issue, as the Utah state government attempts to convince the current president (who is sympathetic) to undo its protective Monument status.

Continue east on Hwy. 162 to the Four Corners area. This is where Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona come together, the only place in the country where four states meet. But let’s take a little detour to see some unique native ruins and drive an out-of-the-way little valley lined with pretty ranches and farms. You can turn north on Hwy. 262 or the road a few miles to the east. Or in Bluff just set your GPS to find Hovenweep National Monument.

Square Tower under winter stars, Hovenweep National Monument, Utah.

You’ll come to the main ruins of Hovenweep, where the visitor center and a nice campground are located. A short loop hike takes you around Little Ruin Canyon, where the Ancient Ones built towers of the local stone. Driving the dirt roads north from here will lead you to short hikes that visit other towers (directions at the visitor ctr.). I recommend doing this for the strong feelings you’ll get with nobody else around. The ghosts of a past long before this was called America haunt this lonely region of shallow sandstone canyons.

The towers of Little Ruin Canyon, Hovenweep National Monument, Utah.

Retrace your steps back south and find Ismay Trading Post Road (ask a ranger for directions or study the map). Take this straight east into Colorado. It’s a beautiful way to enter the state. You can stop and take a short hike into the public lands of Canyons of the Ancients National Monument on the north side of the road. Too soon you’ll reenter the modern world at Cortez, where you can gas up and stock up.

Cortez is jumping-off point for Mesa Verde National Monument. Learn about the Ancestral Puebloans whose ruins and rock art you’ve already been seeing, and visit their truly amazing cliff dwellings. I recommend not stopping with seeing Cliff Palace but also doing the ranger-guided hike to Balcony House.

Rock art of the Fremont people, who came after the Ancestral Puebloans: Colorado.

Spruce Tree House on a beautiful October morning at Mesa Verde National Park, Colorado.

Cortez to Santa Fe

From Cortez head south on Hwy. 491 into New Mexico. You will reach the Navajo town of Shiprock. You are now in the nation’s largest American Indian reservation, in both area and population. Navajo Nation covers nearly 30,000 square miles! Nearby sits the “ship of the desert”, Ship Rock. Approach it on undeveloped roads and tracks. But remember you are not technically in the U.S. here. It is Navajo land and you must abide by their rules. On the plus side they are generally very chill and willing to let a person just be.

From Shiprock drive east to Farmington where you have a choice. You can head south on Hwy. 371. then, after about 35 miles, turn left on road 7297. Drive a few miles on the sandy road to parking for Bisti/De Na Zin Wilderness. After hiking through this geological wonderland, continue on the unpaved roads to reach U.S. Hwy. 550. Or you can continue east of Farmington to Hwy. 550 and head south.

The Bisti/De Na Zin Wilderness, New Mexico.

Either way I recommend taking the turn off Hwy. 550 for Chaco Canyon. The recognized center of Ancestral Puebloan culture, Chaco is home to a complex of dwellings, rock art and spectacular kivas (excavated places of spiritual practice). The hike out to Penyasco Blanco ruin offers sweeping views of the canyon and passes the famous Supernova pictograph.

Continue southeast on Hwy. 550 to the oddly named town of Cuba, where a turn east on route 126 takes you up into the mountains. The Desert SW is not all desert, especially in New Mexico’s high country. Here you’ll find forest and grassy mountain meadows. In some places ranches are still running cattle according to season as they have done for centuries. In others the land has been protected to preserve its unique plants and animals.

A wind-powered pump at a ranch in remote northwestern New Mexico.

The road ends at Hwy. 4, where you’ll turn left and continue east through Valles Caldera Preserve, a lovely ancient caldera now covered with grass and pine trees. You will finally leave forest and mountain behind when you reach Los Alamos. Still an active research complex, this is where America developed the world’s first atomic weapon.

Continue east until you pass over the Rio Grande at Santa Clara Pueblo. Here you can either turn south and go on into Santa Fe, or turn north on Hwy. 68. The northern detour takes you alongside the beautiful Rio Grande River to the adobe-covered town of Taos, where you can visit the home of Jesse James on a self-guided walking tour of the charming town. Taos Pueblo, a village adjacent to the main town, is a native community that you might consider visiting on a guided tour (click the link).

A frosty autumn morning along the Rio Grande River, New Mexico.

This leg of our loop ends in Santa Fe, a smallish city with many layers. On the surface it might seem a little too slick with its modern adobe architecture. But this place figures in the history of the Southwest from the very beginning and hosts a diverse population. In North America you simply do not find places with this many layers of history. At the least enjoy a good meal at one of its many restaurants and do a walking tour of downtown’s historic buildings.

Thanks for staying with this series. I’m really getting a kick out of sharing some of my best road-trips through rural America. Have a great weekend and happy shooting!

On the Ralf Lauren Ranch near Ridgway, Colorado on a crystal-cold late fall morning.

America is a big place. There are large swathes of it that retain a rural or even wild character. In the rural areas you’ll primarily see homes surrounded by lawns and landscaping. No garden, no chickens, goats or horses. No dairy cow supplying milk to the family. And in fact little visual evidence of a family. Where are all the kids who once cared for those animals, and after chores roamed the woods and fields? Most likely riding to yet another stop on their busy schedules or inside looking at screens.

Things have obviously changed. But in much of rural America there remains just enough of the traditional character (and characters!) to allow a casual visitor to be transported back to a simpler age. That is what this series of posts is attempting to do, at least with its pictures. Since I believe in passing on some of what I know in this blog and not just waxing lyrical, I’m highlighting a few select road-trips that I’ve done several times, journeys that will get you off the main tourist routes while still hitting popular destinations that in my opinion are not to be missed.

Last time we traveled from one favorite national park to another: Death Valley, California to Zion in Utah. Check out that post. For an introduction to the geography, culture and history of the Desert Southwest, check out the previous post. Now let’s continue our journey through the Southwest, traveling from Kanab, Utah to Ridgway, Colorado.

Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Utah.

Kanab to Ridgway

This trip begins where the last one left off, Zion Park. Kanab is a short distance from Zion’s east entrance. Unless you’ve already been there and want to save your time for new places, you’re going to want to begin with that scenic wonder. Kanab is worth visiting for its movie history and small-town vibe. Have breakfast at Nedra’s, where many old-time movie stars chowed down. Rooms are fairly reasonable in town, but if you’re camping a great choice is Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park just north of town (image above).

An old barn in Kanab Canyon sits in a pasture used by horses cared for by the folks at Best Friends.

If you have two or three extra days on your hands, consider volunteering at Best Friends animal shelter a short drive north of Kanab. Click the link to go to their site. You can book it ahead and stay there either in a room or if you have a camper there’s a couple nice sites free for volunteers. It’s the world’s largest true no-kill shelter and houses all manner of orphaned animals from dogs & cats to horses & pot-belly pigs.

Taking a break while walking one of the residents of Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, Utah.

If you’re traveling east from Kanab, you have a big decision to make. You can either drive down Hwy. 89 to Lake Powell through Page into northern Arizona. Or you can follow this trip and head north on 89 to join with Hwy. 12 east. Both are spectacular journeys, and with a little time you could go as far as Page and then join this trip by either returning to Kanab or cutting across Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument on one of the rough dirt roads (high-clearance recommended).

An old western movie set slowly crumbles near Kanab, Utah.

So drive north from Kanab on Hwy. 89 and turn east onto one of America’s most scenic roads, Hwy. 12. Head up through Redrock Canyon, stopping to take a short hike through hoodoos that are a preview of Bryce Canyon. After a stop at Bryce a bit further east, continue to Escalante. This is a very small town surrounded by stunning canyon country. Stop and get a feel for what life was like for early pioneers in this isolated spot. Self-reliance is still a prized commodity here, and you will meet some real characters.

Not far from the junction of Highways 89 and 12 in Long Valley, cows deal with the season’s first snowfall.

There is so much scenery and so many hiking and photographic opportunities in these parts that it is tempting to go off on a wilderness tangent. I did a series on the Grand Staircase, so check that out for a little guidance and some image-inspiration. Continue on to Boulder, a town subtly different than Escalante but still very much tied to its ranching roots. The small towns around here are dependent on the steady stream of seasonal tourists.

Head up over Boulder Mountain, where you have a stupendous view out over the country you’re about to traverse. The unique and spectacular Waterpocket Fold is at your feet up here among the aspens. As you drop off Boulder Mtn., the country becomes greener. Take one of the roads west off the highway and see some of the ranches and farms. With a good map you can easily find your way to the little town of Torrey via the “back door”. Torrey retains most of its original character and is less about tourism than most towns on this route.

Ranchland at the base of Boulder Mountain, Utah.

Bid a sad adieu to Hwy. 12 where it ends just east of Torrey. Turn right on Hwy. 24 and drop down to Capitol Reef National Park. Here you’ll find orchards and the preserved remains of Mormon homesteads, all clustered along the beautiful Fremont River. Note that instead of going over Boulder Mtn. you can reach Capitol Reef by traveling the amazing Burr Trail. Don’t worry, it’s a road perfectly passable in a passenger car.

Reefs in this part of the world are not underwater. Quirks of the local geology, they are long, steep escarpments that formed a barrier to pioneers traveling westward in wagons. Think of how reefs in the sea form a barrier to boats and you understand the name. In this case the pass through Capitol Reef comes courtesy of the Fremont River.

A bit of the old west survives at Capitol Reef National Park, Utah.

Going east on Hwy. 24 you enter arid, unpeopled country. It’s the perfect place to prepare for exploring a desert planet, which is why not far off the highway lies the Mars Desert Research Station. You can make an appointment to tour the MDRS. Turn north at Hanksville to stay on Hwy. 24 and travel toward the Interstate along the San Rafael Swell. This is a magical formation to explore, with great canyon hikes. Since it is not protected expect to share it with off-road vehicles, but it is definitely off the tourist track. At its base lie the strange hoodoos of Goblin Valley.

Turn east on I-70 for a short drive to U.S. 191, where you’ll turn south toward Moab. Moab was for most of its life a small remote town. It briefly boomed during the uranium mining boom of the early 1950s. Despite its current tourist-town status, I like Moab. It draws an interesting mix of rock climbers, mountain bikers and off-roaders. Drop in to the Red Rock Cafe for breakfast and you’ll see what I mean.

Big beautiful cottonwoods grow in the canyons surrounding Moab, Utah.

Of course you’ll want to visit Arches and Canyonlands National Parks. But there are many other worthwhile hikes and bike rides in the region. A great driving loop from Moab heads up over the La Sal Mtns. Loop Road and down to Castle Valley and the Colorado River. Turn east on Hwy. 128 to visit Fisher Towers, then return west along the river back to Moab. Many of the ranches along this route have been converted to guest and dude ranches. But they give you a glimpse into the rural life of SW Utah.

Near Canyonlands National Park an old fence reminds of a time when cattle herding was one of the few jobs available.

From Moab go south on 191 a short distance to Hwy. 46 and turn left (east) toward La Sal and the Colorado border. Cross out of Utah on a gloriously uncrowded route that becomes increasingly green. You are in a transition now, passing off the Colorado Plateau into the Rocky Mountains.

Welcome!

Drive through tiny settlements with names like Bedrock, Redvale and Placerville, rural Colorado at its best. When faced with confusing junctions, always take the road that heads east. At Placerville, after driving through a lovely little valley lined with Colorado blue spruce, turn east again onto Hwy. 62.

A late-autumn scene on the Dallas Divide, Colorado.

Take Hwy. 62 over Dallas Divide through some of America’s most beautiful rural mountain scenery (images above and below). For a closer look, turn up toward the peaks on the West Fork Road and drive through Ralf Lauren’s spectacular ranch (image at top). To avoid trespassing stay on the road until you reach National Forest land. Back on Hwy. 62, continue on to Ridgway, a still-authentic ranching community. If it’s autumn and the aspens are in leaf, you will run out of space on your camera’s memory card!

A ranch is nestled among colorful aspens high in the San Juan Mtns. near Ridgway, Colo.

An off-pavement loop drive from Ridgway heads east up gravel county road 8 to Owl Creek Pass. You can free-camp up here and then continue north to rejoin pavement near U.S. 50. Turn left (west) here and drive to Montrose, the largest town in these parts. Stock up and then make the short drive back down to Ridgway. I’m going to leave you in Ridgway, which while lovely is rather remote. From here you can go south through the interesting town of Ouray, then over the high passes of the San Juans and down to Durango. You could also head north and east toward Aspen into the high Rockies of western Colorado.

Rural SW Colorado is perhaps best in the fall.

There are two big towns (Durango and Grand Junction) near enough Ridgway to drop the rental and fly out. Denver is farther away but with enough time a trip that begins in Vegas and ends in Denver would be memorable indeed. Despite our little foray into the Rocky Mtns. the next leg of our journey continues the Desert SW theme. We’ll travel south through the Four Corners into New Mexico. Thanks very much for reading and have a great weekend!

A corral sits in a remote Utah canyon as a storm moves through at sunset.

Snowy Mt Hood catches the first rays of the sun as it presides over rural Hood River Valley, Oregon.

America is still largely a rural nation. And not just in terms of area. Many states lack major cities and most people still live rurally. In states with metropolises, a well-documented trend, the return of Americans to city centers, has been going on for some time. But another trend has continued unnoticed, and it involves far greater numbers of people. Suburbs have expanded into more traditional rural areas, places once dominated by farming and ranching. These so-called exurbs sit some distance from a city but are still connected to it in many ways.

While some of the exurbs resemble true suburbs and should probably be described as quasi-rural, many actually have a strong countryside feel. They’re usually centered around small towns that retain much of their original character. As mentioned in the last post, those living here are an important political force these days, as witness the last election.

In many exurbs it is only a matter of time before they lose any remnant rural feel. A progressive expansion, fed in large part by retiring baby-boomers but also by steady population growth, is pushing aside America’s original rural character. But this blog series is not about bemoaning that loss. I prefer to celebrate what is left, which while inevitably changed from the old days, is still very much intact.

Western Oregon.

Seeing Rural America – The Pacific Northwest

Let’s start out in a part of the west that will always be special to me. If you have read this blog for awhile, you know that Oregon is where my heart lies. It’s a place I’ll always call home. I was born and raised on the east coast, but I’ve lived by far most of my years there. I’m currently living in Florida, in self-imposed exile. But I’ll return someday.

A farmhouse sits in the Willamette Valley south of Portland.

DOWN (UP) THE WILLAMETTE

In order to see some of the prime farmland of that drew early settlers to this territory on the Oregon Trail (see the Addendum below), start in Portland and drive south up the Willamette River. I know, south upriver sounds strange. Avoid Interstate 5 wherever possible. Instead take the back roads, hopping back and forth over the river using the few ferries that remain (Canby, Wheatland). Visit Aurora, and Silverton, stretching your legs and being wowed on a hike in Silver Falls State Park near Silverton. Continue south past Eugene, saying goodbye to the Willamette as it curves east into the Cascades. The Cottage Grove area is famous for its covered bridges, so get hold of a map and enjoy the photo opps.!

Keep going south, making sure to stop at the Rice Hill exit off I5. Here you should partake of Umpqua ice cream the way it should be eaten. Delicious! Visit the little town of Oakland just north of Roseburg, where I lived for a time. Then divert west from Sutherlin on Fort McKay Road. to the Umpqua River. Then wind down the river on Tyee Road. Drive slow or better yet, do this on a bicycle!

You can keep going to the coast or return to I5 on Hwy. 138. Another detour takes you east from Roseburg up the North Umpqua to Diamond Lake and the north end of Crater Lake. If you’d rather stick with the rural theme and save nature for later, keep going south and visit the rather large but still charming town of Ashland, where a famous Shakespeare Festival happens every summer.

It’s difficult not to include Mount Hood, Oregon’s tallest peak, in photos of rural bliss.

THE OLYMPIC PENINSULA

Let’s not forget the great state of Washington. One of my favorite places in the world is the Olympic Peninsula. It can be visited on a road trip that takes in both nature and rural charm. The towns are spaced far apart here and Olympic National Park covers much of the northern peninsula. But lovely farms still lap the slopes of the Olympic Mountains and talkative waitresses serve pie at cafes in towns like Forks, which retain much of their timber-town flavour. Everybody still knows everybody in these towns.

Lake Crescent (image below) is incredibly scenic and a great place for a swim. At dusk, in certain light, you can sit lakeside and easily transport yourself back to quiet summer evenings at the lake. I wonder when vacations stopped being full of simple pleasures like jumping off a tire swing, fried chicken on a screened porch and word games in the dark, and became all about ticking off bucket lists and posting selfies?

Even areas quite close to the metropolis of Seattle retain much of their charm. Take the back roads directly east of the city and drop into the valley of the Snowqualmie River. Take Hwy. 203 north or south through Carnation, site of the original dairy farm of the same name (remember?). Generally speaking you need to travel either east or, overwater via ferry, west of Seattle and the I5 corridor in order to experience rural western Washington.

Lake Crescent on the Olympic Peninsula in very interesting dusk light.

HEADING EAST

I’d feel bad if I didn’t mention the forgotten half of the Pacific NW. It encompasses an enormous region east of the Cascades, one that retains in many places nearly all of its rural character. The Palouse is a perfect example. Lying in southeastern Washington and far western Idaho, the Palouse is wheat-farming at its purest. It is an expansive area of rolling hills, backroads and picture-perfect barns. Despite having become very popular with landscape photographers in recent years, its size means it always feels quiet and uncrowded. I won’t say anymore about it since I posted a mini-series on the Palouse geared toward anyone contemplating a photo-tour. Check that out if you’re curious.

There are so many other routes to explore in the Pacific NW that will allow you to experience the unique flavour of each region. For example a fantastic road trip, again from Portland, is to travel east over Mount Hood. But instead of continuing to Madras, turn off busy Hwy. 26 at easy-to-miss Hwy. 216. Drop into the high desert and visit the little burg of Tygh Valley. Continue east to Maupin on the Deschutes River, famous for its trout fishing and whitewater rafting. Then drive over Bakeoven Road to historic sheep central, Shaniko. Then drop east down twisty Hwy. 218 to Fossil and on to the Painted Hills. This tour, by the way, is popular with motorcyclists in the know. Thanks for reading and have a fun weekend!

A patriotic barn in the Palouse of Washington state.

Addendum: Pacific NW History

I’ve always vaguely resented the fact that the Pacific NW is divided into two states. I think the Oregon Territory should have been left as Oregon, no Washington. To make 50 states we could have split off northern California (plus far SW Oregon) and called it the state of Jefferson. I know a bunch of people who would be very happy with that!

Native tribes have occupied this region for thousands and thousands of years. In fact some of the earliest remains of paleo-indians in North America come from eastern Oregon and Washington. Now a semi-desert, back then it was significantly wetter, with large lakes full of waterfowl, and the rocky hills bursting forth every spring with all sorts of edible plants.

White Europeans began to take an interest in the area very early on in the 1700s. But they only visited by sea. To the north, British fur trading companies sent parties into the Canadian part of the Pacific Northwest eco-region. But it would not be until Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led a party of young, energetic men down the Columbia River to the Pacific Coast near what is now the little town of Astoria, Oregon in 1804 that the young country signalled its intention to make the region part of America.

Edgar Paxson’s famous painting of Lewis, Clark, Sacajawea, Charbonneau and Clark’s slave York at Three Forks.

In the mid-1800s mountain men of the west, with beaver all but trapped out in many areas, turned to guiding settlers west along the Oregon Trail. The destination these hardy families had in mind was the rich farmland along the Willamette and other rivers of the Oregon Territory. Some never made it all the way, instead stopping in cooler, drier areas like the Baker Valley of eastern Oregon and the Palouse, a dryland farming area in Washington.

Timber harvesting, farming and ranching have long been the mainstays of the Pacific Northwest. If you’ve never read Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Keasey you should do so. It is expertly written and imparts an authentic look at traditional family-based logging in Oregon. The movie is top-notch as well.

But times have changed. The mills are shut down in most places. Private timber lands are still harvested but with few exceptions federal National Forests are for reasons both environmental and economic no longer being cut. The ways in which people here make a living have largely changed from natural resource-based to a mix of technology, tourism and a variety of service jobs.

A photo & travel blog with a difference: Instead of strict focus on photo how-to, gear and the like, I'll pass on knowledge about the places and cultures photographed. I believe the more deeply you come to know a place, the better your pictures will be.

My past careers as science teacher and geologist mean that I can't help but teach about the natural history of photogenic places around the world. But photography is not forgotten. You'll also see practical tips about where and how to photograph the destinations. And once a week, Friday Foto Talk gives photography tips and how-to on a selected topic, for novices on up to expert.

What you won't find here is endless discussion about me braving dangerous weather, terrain or wild animals to get the shot. Nor will there be cheerleading gear talk or marketing pitches. I promise to leave that to other blogs, of which there are many.

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